> The US spends more on healthcare per capita than any other country, which is hardly surprising given that it’s the richest country.
Qatar, Luxembourg, Singapore, Ireland, Brunei, Norway, UAE, Kuwait and Switzerland all have more GDP per capita (PPP) than the US yet spend less per capita on healthcare (PPP). So, the US coming first in health expenditure per capita is not simply due to coming first in wealth. (The US does come first in nominal GDP, but it doesn't make much sense to compare an overall figure like that with a per capita one.)
> Qatar, Luxembourg, Singapore, Ireland, Brunei, Norway, UAE, Kuwait and Switzerland all have more GDP per capita (PPP) than the US yet spend less per capita on healthcare (PPP).
GDP per capita understates how rich the US is. A better measure is average individual consumption. Unfortunately I can’t find great figures on that but the only country/region with higher household consumption than the US is Hong Kong, with far smaller households[1].
Qatar, Brunei, Kuwait and Norway are petrostates. Luxembourg, Singapore, Ireland and Switzerland all have oversized financial sectors and as such Gross National Product gives a more realistic measure of how rich they really are. Singapore and Switzerland it doesn’t change much but Ireland’s GNP is ~80% of GDP.
Qatar, Luxembourg, Singapore, Ireland, Brunei, Norway, UAE, Kuwait and Switzerland all have more GDP per capita (PPP) than the US yet spend less per capita on healthcare (PPP). So, the US coming first in health expenditure per capita is not simply due to coming first in wealth. (The US does come first in nominal GDP, but it doesn't make much sense to compare an overall figure like that with a per capita one.)